Chelsea are reportedly willing to bend to Antonio Rudiger’s wage demands because the club are wary of losing too many defenders this summer.
As things stand, Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta will all see their current contracts expire on July 1.
The Blues have been locked in negotiations with Rudiger’s representatives for some time but are yet to reach an agreement over terms.
Rudiger joined Chelsea from Roma in July 2017 for £34million and is currently paid around £100,000 per week.
The Germany international has already rejected an offer worth £140,000 because he is seeking around £200,000 to commit his future to the club.
According to Goal , there has been some progress recently, with Chelsea offering close to that figure, in part because they are worried about losing three key defenders this summer.
Rudiger has attracted plenty of interest from other clubs, with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester United all keeping tabs on his situation.
The 28-year-old is reportedly open to staying in west London, having established himself as one of Thomas Tuchel’s leading players over the past year.
That is despite the fact that he could command around £400,000-a-week if he were to join one of Europe’s giants as a free agent, as per the Daily Mail .
Chelsea know they are likely to lose a few centre-backs this summer and are therefore looking at their options on the transfer market.
According to Goal, Barcelona ’s 21-year-old defender Ronaldo Araujo is a ‘serious’ target, due to the fact he only has 18 months left on his contract.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What should Chelsea do with the three soon-to-be out of contract defenders? Comment below.
Meanwhile, Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, who Chelsea bid for over the summer, and Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana are also on the transfer shortlist.
That is because Christensen is being courted by Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who are also confident of taking Chelsea captain Azpilicueta back to Spain on a free transfer.
Azpilicueta has been with the club for 10 years, but refused to be drawn on his future when asked ahead of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Al Hilal in the Club World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
“I'm not going to speak about my future. We are one day before the semi-final of the tournament,” Azpilicueta said on Tuesday.
“Of course, I arrived in the summer of 2012 and I didn't have kids. My kids were born in London and you know how I feel about Chelsea. But I am not going to comment on my future.”
Thiago Silva has already signed a one-year contract extension, while the emergence of Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah this season increases Tuchel’s options.
Levi Colwill has also impressed Chelsea during his current loan spell at Huddersfield.
